I recently canceled my online WW account and have been using FITDAY to do my tracking. I really learned a lot with WW and have been very successful thus far with my weight losss, but I needed to cut back my expences. I felt confident that I can be just as successful using FITDAY, it's a matter of mind set and how accountable you can be to yourself.

Hi,
I am currently on WW, but if I didn't already have a good grounding in nutrition and fitness, I would most likely be eating all the wrong things. WW is more consumed with points rather than the quality of the points. They do not walk their talk. Examples are the WW foods they sell, they are filled with chemicals and horribly high in sodium. Having said all that, I will continue to go to the meetings and use their online access because I like the regular meetings/weigh ins/ and one on one support. So I use WW points but only in conjunction with healthy nutrition habits.
Also (as I ramble on) their recommendations for 18-22 points are 1200 and less calories. It's no wonder people are very hungry and re-gain the weight. There minimum baseline is NOT healthy.
Cheers,
Tracker

My dad is not on WW but he likes their frozen desserts. Recently his blood pressure has gone all wonky, so his doctor told him he needs to shed a few pounds, add cardio to his daily routine and watch his salt intake. So my dad's solution to all this was to change his sub buns to slim buns, get reduced fat cheese instead of regular cheese and to change from ice cream to WW ice cream bars. When I looked at the labels side by side, he was better off eating the ice cream. Of course the WW comes in a single serve wrapper, whereas the dish of ice cream is always more than a suggested serving size, so maybe he's made a step in the right direction, I dunno.

Personally I only did WW when I was a teenager and my mom went to the meetings and made me diet along with her. I don't know that I ever had dramatic weight loss on it, but I certainly preferred it over the Slim Fast plan. At least with WW you got to eat food.

The problem with WW is that is that it's focus IS only on caloric reduction. And more to the point about using their system of "food" products, and making sure to have repeat customers!

The problem will almost ALL weight loss programs that offer either a food system(or "support group" )in order to "help" you eat less create products that remove sugars and fats and add a LOAD of MSG. If you search those three letters online look for all the other names that this chemical is listed under-over 75. It is scary. Take the time to really understand how this chemical is going to jack up your body's ability to regulate its own blood sugar. Looks for it's history and the food industries history of usage.

You will find that there is no FDA regulation to this "natural flavor". As the chemical compounds are derived from seaweed, it is deemed not to be an issue. However over the last 30 years it has found its way into almost all "diet" and fast foods. Its main purpose is to enhance flavor. It does make you think food tastes better, it does make you eat more!

The real result is that it jacks up your metabolism. It also plays with your internal sensors which give you the message that you have not satisfied your hunger. And...like in Chinese food-find yourself starving an hour later. Please do not believe me, do not take my word for it.... do your own research!

Motivation and positive feel goods are not going to help you over come a chemical reaction to food additives. And eating the "fad" diet of the month's program is not going to help you lose weight for that very reason. They are designed to make you fail.

Again, they need customers! Programs like these are designed to make you fail so that you go back time and time again to use their systems.

Start eating food that only YOU cook at home. Add herbs, spices. Lots of water, veggies, fiber, beans, some meat, fruit, grains. This is what life style change really means. That is the practical way to make the diet change. Do not focus on the"why" I eat. You already know that if you have been in these systems. That is really focusing on the negative and keeping you mentally in the wounds that spur you. Shift it and go okay...I am triggered ..NOW ...today...this meal....I am going to take care of that wound by eating this!! After all you would not put salt on a wound right?? One meal at a time

It is not about positive support therapeutic group speak. Want to do something different ?

Start having family and friends come over and bulk cook on the weekends, so you have the food you need for the week and put them in meal size ziplock's etc so you pull and nuke...no thinking..just acting on the plan. So when that binge hovers, you have a plan!

Recipe exchanges..

Start studying at TOPS about proper nutrition, meal planning, crock pot cooking etc... Consider it a free university cource and you all get to make the lesson plans... take that time and start developing a skill base to support your desire to change your life.

Go for a small walk with each other! No matter your fitness level just more a little, with other people.

Start a food buying co-op to get food cheaper.

Then add the three meals you would have a day and split them into 6. Put a small timer at your meal times and put it for 20 minutes, that is how long it takes to do the biological process from food to mind to start to have the sensation of fullness, end of hunger. Have a serving and after that 20 minutes if you are still hungry have an apple.

What you are naming as emotional issues...can also be called blood sugar issues.- imbalances- While for certain dealing with emotional triggers is one way to change...but the hook is that most of you have been doing that for years and it does not work. I can not work because what supports your emotions IS biology. That is really what no one is telling you!!

So how about trying it from a biological perspective. S. Seriously, women get nailed time and time again about being emotional eaters, when it has more to do with not being taught proper nutrition. It is a set up to feel bad about yourselves.

Seriously, the diet industry is set up to make you think it is all in your head. That way they get to control you. If these products worked... you would not be here today in this thread! If these systems worked...you would not be here in this thread. You would not have been on the fast track of yo-yo weight issues.

Take back the control and educate yourself on diet and nutrition. Sure it is going to take a while to re-learn lots of stuff. It is going to take a while to learn how to cook differently, menu planning, budgeting, health conditions and diet requirements. It is. But really you are already hyper focused on the issue, just in the wrong direction... move forward and stop referencing to the past, cause that is over and it did not work.

GOOD show for stopping WW.

best of luck and information to all of you!!

Take your life back, you are after all you are the only one who lives your body!

I quit too. I was on Dr. Bernstein, lost 60 lbs then went to WW for maintenace support and gained back 30 lbs after 1 year. WW was too lenient, focusing on fibre, calories and fat only. No consideration to sugar or other problem carbs that stimulate insulin response and fat storage. Many of us have to control insulin but a company such as Heinz, who own WW, would not encourage restricting sugar - all that ketchup would stay on the grocery store shelves.

I love WW. If they tell you what to eat, they're wrong. If they DON'T tell you what to eat, they're wrong. If they give you an option of having your ice cream and saving calories, they're wrong because they have a product. If they didn't give you an option of having your ice cream and saving calories, they're wrong because they make you deal with all the products out there and don't tell you what has the best value.

If you have to go to meetings, they're wrong. If you don't have to go to meetings, they're wrong ('how am I expected to do this difficult thing without the support!) If they tell you exactly how much protein to eat, they're wrong - it's not enough, it's too much. If they don't tell you how much protein to eat, they're wrong ('irresponsible! useless! What's going to be best for my health!) If they offer motivational talk, they're wrong ('smoke and mirrors, I don't have to listen to this!) If they don't offer motivational talk, they're wrong ('What's the point of showing up, I already know how to diet!")

Whiney, complaining, bitchy grousing about every aspect of dieting - how happy are people that they can blame the big bad organization? Really happy. So you'll always hear negative reports and 'they ruined my life' stories. Meanwhile, go to a meeting and listen to people who have lost weight and realize everyone has an individual goal to reach, they all have information to share, and dieting is tough. Benefit from that realization.

What I remember most about the times (yes more than once) on WW is sitting at my desk at work and all day saying to myself "Oh my gosh I'm so hungry, I'm so hungry" I probably said it out loud and didn't even realize it.

I have a friend that recently rejoined and tried to get me to do it again and I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

We don't have an TOPS meetings in my area but I would certainly check it out if we did! I went to TOPS many years ago and what I remember is that you at least you get a chance to participate in an actual conversation which you don't get to do at WW meetings. More like a group of friends getting together to talk about weight issues.

WW definitely works for some. It never worked much or longterm for me. I'd lose a few pounds then gain it all back and more. I found myself obsessing over food (well I always do that but this was even more extreme.) While I got some good ideas from meetings, some of them seemed a little silly (a member talking at GREAT length about the creamer in her coffee, the caloric drawbacks, the nutritional benefits, the psychological and spiritual ramifications etc. Sorry to make fun but it just seemed a bit much to me.) And while I enjoyed some of the products, they are loaded with chemicals.

Everyone has to find his/her own way. If WW works,then I think you should go with it. There are certainly worse plans out there. To me, real food in reasonable amounts and exercise is what I would like to be able to lose and live on.